The times they are a-changin’.
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I’ve been getting a lot of calls for help. I am a part of a very creative, skilled, highly talented community. While most folks, entering today’s market, cater to tech-savvy social influencers with an audience searching for something to sell, my audience has a lot to sell. They need to organize these into actual products bring their audiences online so that they can grow and scale! Which is why I’m more convinced than ever that it pays to be consumer-focused by developing products that meet their needs even before one focuses on funnels!
I sell the PLM (product line management), then marketing. That said I’ve decided to brush up on my marketing by taking some digital marketing challenges! Mind you I’m in the process of building out the concept of a “creative product portfolio”, which has been the specific focus of my study for the last 3-4 years! The=is was a result of direct requested during interactions with my target audience, short of “Do it for Me” which is an “agency”, I get the request for help with learning how to organize their initiatives!
While developing my concept, I still maintained my extremely close ties with the niches I hope to impact and kept abreast of marketing trends!
Why?
The marketing options shape the product, the product shape the marketing options!
How so?
In my personal case as an artist, I am now considering my product in terms of social media, content, and storytelling.
So now there is a story behind each dress and each print – that story has a beginning and evolving chapters… so that one dress now will be available as a pattern, as “DIY,” as “Done for You,” and as the product in itself at differing price points as a class, workshop, or video. I now have a story of the day whether for audio, video, text or photo.
My dresses always had a story I just never considered telling it until I considered marketing and since I’m going through the effort of marketing and the knowledge I have with my “Creative Product Portfolio” as a framework, my product potential increased. All these ideas do not matter if I do not produce and so I need to produce to market! It makes little sense attracting hundreds if I can only deliver 3 products!
The marketing options shape the product, the product shape the marketing options!
Through it all, I’ve learned that there is really no right or wrong way to view the market. Its about execution.
In my reality, I converse with the store owner with ears to the ground speaking of the imploding fashion retail sector, juxtaposed by my fashion designer client focused on the production and is prepping for exploding sales! The indie musicians who complain no one will hear their music, juxtaposed by the young musician being hailed by the likes of the NYTimes and NPR as one to watch, who has little time to think through her product portfolio. or the cases where I am called on to discuss business ideas, to give direction, I have folks waiting on my workshops and course. Those conversations have shaped and shifted the nature of those in my product portfolio… heck it’s even responsible for the name change, “Creative Product Portfolio!”
If you want to achieve something just do it!
Trust your process!
I realized that nothing has really changed. My core audience is offline. I bring them online.
Whenever someone reaches out to me, I ask questions. Yes, before we meet you get homework! I pose these questions so they can prep for an initial first call!
- What do you want to do?
- Why?
- Who do you want to impact.?
- How much do you need to earn?
- Where do you plan to do this?
- Which skills do you have to lean on?
- When do you need to accomplish this?
Seven simple questions…
Just seven questions, but few have thought through these seven questions… the answers do not need to be right… they are a starting point towards launching one’s creative industry!
That ‘initial call” is designed to ignite the individual quest. So many of the people in the challenges seem to have skipped this step… sometimes it’s so easy to move folks from interested party to client, only to lose them because we cannot deliver. However the ideation, the product development process is not that quick or intuitive… It takes time.
Even the longest journey though, begins with a single step so…
Talk to me about your product range and your deliverables!
